Médicos y viajeros a propósito de Quevedo y el unicornio

Phoenix, pelican, basilisk and unicorn are the fabulous animals that make up a poetic "minibestiario" by Quevedo, four parodic romances published in “Musa Talía” of Parnaso español. These fabulous animals are also mentioned in some quevedianas works from different periods. In La constancia y paciencia del santo Job, the myth of the phoenix has an important development and Quevedo alludes to the unicorn as well. He opposes to the ancient writers, who attest the virtues of unicorn some stories of travelers and missionaries and a "libro entero" about the inexistence of the animal. The latter one may perhaps be identified with a small treatise published by a sixteenth century Italian physician.